The American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan (AmCham Taiwan) has joined a dozen other Asia-Pacific American chambers of commerce (AmCham) on the first regional AmCham business delegation to Washington, D.C. since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic from July 18-20.
In a press release, the business group, which represents 535 American and international companies with operations in Taiwan, said the three-day visit would include meetings with members of the Biden administration and leaders in Congress.
A key focus of the trip will be the energy sector, which AmCham Taiwan described as a “priority area” to promote both energy security and the transition to greener energy.
The delegation also plans to call on Washington to enter into a “comprehensive digital agreement” with as many parties as possible, preferably by the time the U.S. hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in 2023, it added.
Regarding the Taiwan-U.S. bilateral relationship, AmCham Taiwan said it believed Taiwan merited inclusion in the initial configuration of the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), but it reiterated that “the most important element” for peace and security in the Taiwan Strait was to have the U.S. “firmly and formally tethered to a broad array of Indo-Pacific partners.”
Specifically, the launch in June of the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade provides an opportunity to make “quantum advances in bilateral trade and integration,” including progress toward a future bilateral trade agreement, said Andrew Wylegala, president of AmCham Taiwan.
The visit, which is being led by the umbrella group AmChams of Asia Pacific (AAP), also includes AmCham representatives from Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel